Sailing rig



W. G. WHITE Dec. 14, 1965 SAILING RIG Filed Feb. 24, 1964 INVENTOR. WILFRID 6. WHITE ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,223,064 SAILING RIG Wilfrid G. White, Drinkwater Point, Yarmouth, Maine Filed Feb. 24, 1964, Ser. No. 346,643 9 Claims. (Cl. 11439) My invention relates to sailing vessels and in particular to an improved arrangement of spars, sails and rigging.

The principal object of the invention is to improve the efficiency of sailing vessels.

Another object of the invention is to increase the stability of sailing vessels as well as to facilitate sailhandling.

Another object of the invention is to diminish the likelihood of capsizing small sailing craft.

An important feature of the invention resides in the combination of a pair of masts in V-array, sidestays running vertically from the deck to the tops of the masts, and twin mainsails hoisted on said sidestays.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision for simple fore and aft adjustment of the positions of the lower ends of the sidestays, whereby the center of effort of the sails may very easily be moved.

An important advantage resulting from the use of the novel rig of my invention is the fact that the center of effort, and hence the heeling moment, of the twin mainsails is approximately 40% lower than for a single mainsail of the same area as the combined area of the twin mainsails; thus materially reducing the chances of capsizing.

Another advantage of my novel rig is that the slot effect present in the conventional mainsail-genoa jib combination is generated between the twin mainsails and mainsail-jib combination.

Still another advantage of the new rig is the fact that the twin mainsails may be boomed out in opposite directions when the vessel is sailing before the wind, thus creating a balanced condition of great efliciency.

These and other objects and features of the invention will be more readily understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of a boat fitted with a rig constructed in accordance with my invention,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the boat shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a view in front elevation of the boat, showing the applicability of the rig to different hull types, and

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view in perspective of the novel rig.

In connection with the description of a preferred embodiment of my novel rig, I wish to emphasize that my invention relates to an arrangement of masts and sails, with associated stays and that it is independent of the details of hull design. Consequently I have shown and will describe only so much of the hull as is necessary for proper understanding of the novel rig. In FIGS. 1 and 2 I have shown a conventional catamaran which includes a pair of bulls and 12 disposed in parallel array. In FIG. 3 I have indicated in dotted lines the possibility of the employment of a trimaran, in which case a center hull 14 would be used in conjunction with the catamaran hulls 10 and 12. Moreover, I have indicated by the dotted line 16 that the novel rig of my invention can be associated with a conventional single hull.

The catamaran illustrated in the drawing includes, in addition to the hulls 10 and 12, a main transverse support member 18 connecting the two hulls, supplemental braces 20, and a stern cross member 22 which not only serves to brace the hulls in parallel spaced relation, but also has a support for a conventional rudder 24 equipped with the usual tiller 26. The customary centerboard 28 is also shown in FIG. 1.

Mounted on the principal support member 18 is a mast step 30 located amidships and serving to support a pair of twin masts 32 and 34, each of which is inclined outwardly from the mast steps 30 at such an angle that the upper extremity of each mast overlies the outward gunwale of one of the hulls 10 and 12. From the top of the mast 32 a wire stay 36 extends vertically downward and terminates in a fitting cooperating with a runner or track 40 mounted on the deck at the gunwale and providing means for fore and aft adjustment of the lower end of the stay 36. The runner or track 40 may take the form of the usual runner customarily used for running backstays; its details form no part of the invention, and those skilled in the art will readily understand and appreciate that there are various forms of such tracks which provide for fore and aft adjustment of a stay, sheet block, or the like. Another vertical stay 38 is connected in like manner to the top of the mast 34 and is received at its lower end in an adjustable runner 42. A cross stay 44 extends transversely and is connected at each end to the upper end of one of the masts 32 and 34. The runners 40 and 42 are concave to match the are described by the end of the vertical stays 36 and 38.

A forestay 46 connects the top of the mast 32 to the stem of the hull 12, and a similar forestay 48 connects the top of the mast 34 to the stern of the hull 10. Similarly a pair of backstays 50 and 52 connect the upper ends of the masts 32 and 34 to the stern posts of the hulls 10 and 12. The combination of the sidestays 36 and 38, the cross stay 44, the forestays 46 and 48, and the backstays 50 and 52 serves to support the twin masts 32 and 34 and to hold them in relatively rigid positions with respect to the hulls.

A mainsail 54, having a conventional boom 55, is arranged to be hoisted on the vertical sidestay 36; a similar mainsail 56, equipped with a boom 57, is hoisted on the vertical sidestay 38. The booms are controlled by sheets (not shown) conventionally arranged with respect to the hulls and the booms.

A genoa jib 58 is hoisted on the forestay 46, and an identical genoa jib 60 is hoisted on the forestay 48. Both genoa jibs overlap their respective mainsails in customary fashion and are controlled by conventional sheets (not shown). By contrast with the conventional rig which includes a single mast on which the mainsail is hoisted, the rig of my invention offers several advantages. To begin with the sail area is distributed generally lower with respect to the hull or hulls. Thus, for a given sail area the center of effort of the twin mainsails is approximately 40% lower than would be the case if the same sail area was incorporated in a single mainsail associated with a conventional rig. The result is that the moment arm tending to heel or capsize the boat is shorter than with a conventional rig, and a boat equipped with the rig of my invention is therefore more stable, stiffer, and less likely to capsize. That is particularly important when the rig is employed on a catamaran, since catamarans are notoriously subject to 180 capsizingso much so that it is not unusual to find a float or buoy fastened to the top of the mast of a catamaran for the purpose of limiting the capsize to A conventional sail is hoisted so that its lutf is contiguous with the rear surface of a mast. Consequently the luff of the conventional mainsail is relatively inefiective, because the turbulence created by the mast shadows the foremost portion of the luff of the sail. By contrast, the mainsails in the rig of my invention are hoisted on wire stays which generate little or no turbulence in the 3 air stream, the result being that the totality of each mainsail is usefully employed to drive the vessel.

It is Well known that the principal advantage of a genoa, or overlappig, jib comes from the slot-eifect. That is to say, the stream of air passing between the overlapping portion of the jib and the adjacent portion of the mainsail generates forces which significantly add to the driving power of the sails. In my rig overlapping jibs may conveniently by employed, as illustrated in the drawing, and the conventional slot-eifect is obtained. However, there is, in my rig, the further advantage that there is a third slot-eifect brought about by the parallel spaced array of the pairs of mainsails and jibs. That provides still further driving force which cannot be achieved by a conventional rig.

It is of course known that the rake of a mast will have considerable effect on the speed of a sail boat, and those engaged in racing are wont to experiment from time to time, changing the rake, and thus the center of effort, seeking to bring about an increase in sailing speed. With the conventional rig it is the major operation, since the forestay and backstay must be adjusted, and, if the mast is supported by partners, the wedges must also be rearranged. However, in my rig the equivalent adjustment is made in a matter of a few seconds, merely by releasing the runner and moving the foot of the stay either forward or aft on the track.

It should also be pointed out that my rig is well adapted to carry a double headed spinnaker, each head being hoisted by a halyard to the top of the mast and the clews being controlled by sheets running to each hull. Such a spinnaker would be in effect the equivalent of a square sail and therefore more effective and greater in area than the conventional single headed spinnaker. I have not illustrated the double headed spinnaker, since I believe that its structure would be obvious from the preceding discussion.

As an alternative to a double headed spinnaker, or in addition thereto, it is apparent that when running before the wind, one may wing out the booms 55 and 57 in opposite directions, thus producing maximum advantage from the twin mainsails as well as a more balanced array of sails than can be achieved with a conventional single mainsail.

Those skilled in the art will readily understand and appreciate that I have not deemed it necessary to describe the details of the hull fittings or the turnbuckles, eyes, halyards, etc, which are employed in carrying out my invention, since those details are unnecessary to an understanding of the invention and well known to naval architects, boat builders and the like.

Having thus disclosed my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A sailing rig for a hull, comprising a pair of masts arranged in V array with the base of the V mounted substantially amidships upon the hull, a substantially vertical sidestay connecting the top of each mast to the hull, and a sail secured at the hoist to each of said stays.

2. A sailing rig for a hull, comprising a pair of masts arranged in V array with the base of the V mounted substantially amidships upon the hull, the upper ends of the masts overhanging the outboard gunwales of the hull, a stay connected to the top of each mast and extending substantially vertically to the hull, and a sail secured at the hoist to each of said stays.

3. A sailing rig for a hull, comprising a pair of masts arranged in V array with the base of the V mounted substantially amidships upon the hull, a substantially vertical sidestay connecting the top of each mast to the hull, a forestay running from the top of each mast to the bow of the hull, a sail secured at the hoist to each of said sidestays, and a jib hoisted upon each forestay.

4. A sailing rig for a hull, comprising a pair of masts arranged in V array with the base of the V mounted substantially amidships upon the hull, a substantially vertical sidestay connecting the top of each mast to the hull, a cross-stay connecting the tops of the masts, a forestay running from the top of each mast to the bow of the hull, a sail secured at the hoist to each of said sidestays, and a jib hoisted upon each forestay.

5. A sailing rig for a hull, comprising a pair of masts arranged in V array with the base of the V mounted substantially amidships upon the hull, a substantially vertical sidestay connecting the topof each mast to the hull, a cross-stay connecting the tops of the masts, a backstay connecting the top of each mast to the stern of the hull, a forestay running from the top of each mast to the bow of the hull, a sail secured at the hoist to each of said sidestays, and a jib hoisted upon each forestay.

6. A sailing rig for a hull, comprising a pair of masts arranged in V array with the base of the V mounted substantially amidships upon the hull, a stay connected to the top of each mast and running substantially vertically to the hull, means secured to the hull and providing fore and aft adjustment for the lower end of each of said stays, and a sail secured at the hoist to each of said stays.

7. In combination with a catamaran having a pair of hulls and athwartships support interconnecting said hulls, a sailing rig comprising a pair of masts arranged in V array with the base of the V mounted substantially amidships on said support, a substantially vertical sidestay connecting the top of each mast to the outboard gunwale portion of each hull, and a sail secured at the hoist to each of said stays.

8. A sailing rig for a hull, comprising a pair of sidestays, means supporting said sidestays in substantially vertical position, each of said sidestays being connected at 'it lower end to amidships outboard portion of the hull, a forestay running from the upper end of each of said sidestays to the bow of the hull, a sail secured at the hoist to each of said sidestays, and a jib hoisted on each of said forestays.

9. A sailing rig for a hull, comprising a pair of sidestays, means supporting said sidestays in substantially vertical position, each of said sidestays being connected at it lower end to amidships outboard portion of the hull, a forestay running from the upper end of each of said sidestays to the bow of the hull, a sail secured at the hoist to each of said sidestays, and a jib hoisted on each of said forestays, each of said jibs overlapping said sails.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 288,819 11/1883 Kraeger 11490 3,141,435 7/1964 Moifitt 11439 3,142,282 7/1964 Nichols 114--39 FOREIGN PATENTS 144,655 3/1954 Sweden. 458,068 12/193 6 Great Britain.

MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

FERGUS S. MIDDLETON, Examiner. 

1. A SAILING RIG FOR A HULL, COMPRISING A PAIR OF MASTS ARRANGED IN V ARRAY WITH THE BASE OF THE V MOUNTED SUBSTANTIALLY AMIDSHIPS UPON THE HULL, A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL SIDESTAY CONNECTING THE TOP OF EACH MAST TO THE HULL, AND A SAIL SECURED AT THE HOIST TO EACH OF SAID STAYS. 